Helicopters will be landing at malls and other locations “when the city becomes a mock battlefield next week.”

A mock battlefield-that does not sound reassuring, does it? They want to warn residents not to be alarmed while Marines patrol on foot, fire weapons, fly helicopters overhead and have military vehicles on the road. I’m not sure it’s possible not to alarm people when these things are happening.

The marines will also be:

“conducting patrols, running vehicle checkpoints, reacting to ambushes and employing nonlethal weapons, according to a statement.”

Translation-the Marines will be harassing ordinary citizens. They will have a total of 27 training sites to choose from to launch their operations.

Why do the Marines need to train in a U.S. city to improve their urban warfare skills? It’s not like a U. S. city will be anywhere near the same as going to a city in the Middle East.